Reflector and supporting tongues therefor



June 10, 1930.

P. KRANZ ET AL REFLECTOR AND SUPPORTING TONGUES THEREFOR Filed July 16, 1929 ATTORNEYS.

Patented June 10, 1930 r I :PHILIP xRANz AND ALBERT r. SCHMID,

R PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, AS-

SIGNORS TO BERNARD WILMSEN, OF PHILADELPHIA, PEIINSYLVANIA REFLECTOR AND SUPPORTING ToNeURs THEREFOR Application filed July 16,

It has long been the custom to equip, the small incandescentelectric lamps employed for Christmas tree ornamentation with reflectors, and since the natural color of the tree foliage is dark, the greater portion of the light of the lamp is absorbed so that the employment of a reflector therefor is desirable since such reflector'materially enhances the brilliancy of the ornamentation and frequent- 1y permits the employment of a fewer number lamps.

7 Our present invention relates to a novel reflector for vuse with incandescent electric lamps, and theobject of our invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive and efiicient structure particularly adapted for use in connection with the miniature incandescent electric lamps largely employed for Christmas tree ornamentation, our novel reflector being frictionally supported upon the lamp socket or thelike, and not being interposed between the socket and lamp and confined in place by the latter, as has heretofore been the practice. 7

As will be understood, the wiring of Christmas trees is under the jurisdiction of electrical authorities, and such wiring must be approved bythe insurance underwriter, and our novel structure is designed to comply with such rules and at the same time efficiently perform the function for which it has been designed. 1 1

Our invention therefore comprises a simple form of reflector element or elements which may be from one to five or six in number and carrying an insulating element formed of a flanged ring, which is provided with wedge shaped resilient tongues having an opening therebetween by means of which tongues, the reflector is frictionallyheld in proper position upon the lamp socket and not between the socket and lamp, the tongues of the insulating member being frictionally positioned 'on the socket receiving the lamp plug or on the lamp itself and completely insulating all of the parts in such a way as to receive the approval of the insurance underwriters.

V For the purpose of illustrating our invention we have shown in theaccompanying drawings several forms thereof which are 1929. Serial No. 378,604.

at present preferred by us, since the same have been found in practice to give satisfactory and reliable results, although it is to be understood that the various instrumentalities of which our invention consists can be variously arranged and organized and that our invention is not limited to the precise arrangement and organization of the instrumentalities as herein shown and described.

Referring to the drawings Figure 1, represents a plan view of a reflector or Christmas treeornament, embodying our invention.

Figure 2, represents a section on line 2-2 Figure r r i i Figure3, represents a fragmentary View of anelevation of the rear of Figure 1, or the left hand surface of Figure 2.

Figure 4, represents a diagrammatic perspective view of the elements of our novel reflector, in separatedposition prior to assembling. V

Figure 5, represents a sectional view showing the manner of initially assembling certain of the elements seen in Figure 4.

Figure 6, represents a sectional view of our novel reflector or Christmas tree ornament mounted on an electric light socket, the socket and light being shown in elevation.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts. 1 designates our novel reflector or Christmas tree ornament, the same being composed preferably of a plurality of variegated thin reflecting sheets or elements ofdiflerent sizes, as 2, 3 and 4, which may have their peripheral edges scalloped or of any other desired contour as i will be understood from Figures 1 and 4:, and

said sheets as 3 and 4 may be slightly dished if desired as seen in Figs. 2, 5 and 6. Each of the sheets 2, 3 and 4 has a central round hole therein'as indicated at 5, 6 and 7 respectively which holes are of substantially the same diameter or a trifle larger than the outer periphery of the ring 8 'havin the ange lateral annular flange 9, said ring and being preferably stamped, pressed or otherwise made out of paper or similar cheap, non-conducting material. In the manufacture-of our novel device, the sheets 2, 3 and 4 4 are first stamped or produced in large quantities in contrasting colors by any suitable dies or similar mechanism, the smaller and larger sheets 1 and 2 being for example green and the intermediate sheet 3 being red if desired, and in making the device up for the market any number of said sheets as one to six may be employed. We prefer in practice to employ three sheets as seen in Figures 1 to 6, but the number of sheets, can obviously be varied according to requirements. The smaller sheet 4 is first slipped on to the ring 8 and pushed against the flange 9, the next larger sheet 3 is pushed upon said ring and lastly the sheet 2, the parts now appearing as seen in Figure 5 and the left hand portion of said ring protruding slightly beyond the larger sheet 2, as indicated at 10 in Figure 5. This portion or extension 10 of the ring 8 is next by a suitable pressing operation or pressing implement deflected or compressed to form the flange 11 seen in Figure 2, after which the disk 12 of paper or the like having the serrated or star shaped central opening 13, forming the resilient pointed tongues 14:, is adhesively secured in position upon the flange 11, as will be understood from Figures 2 and 3, suitable pressure being applied thereto so that the finished ornament appears as seen in Figures 1 and 2. The disc 12 may be made of thin paper, fabric or a thin sheet of rubber or similar non-conducting material, but in practice for reducing the cost of manufacture, we preferably employ paper, or the like of sufiicient thickness, as we have found that the supporting points or inner apices of the tongues 14 will possess suflicient rigidity and resiliency, when the proper grade of paper is employed effectively to support the ornament or reflector with respect to the desired support, illuminating element or lamp, so that there is no necessity for any clamping action to be exerted by the lamp or any portion thereof upon our novel reflector or ornament.

In Figure 6 we have shown one preferred manner of assembling our novel reflector with respect to the socket 15 of a miniature electric lamp 16, the latter having a conventional plug portion which screws into the socket 15. Upon unscrewing the lamp plug from the socket 15 the reflecting element as seen in Figures 1 or 2 is slipped upon the socket 15 and held in position as seen in Figure 6 by the frictional contact of the resilient tongues 14:. Our novel device in practice is not interposed between the socket and lamp nor is it confined in place by the lamp nor does it need to contact with the lamp, as will be understood from Figure 6. We are aware of the patent to Weckesser No. 1,248,222, wherein is disclosed an insulated reflector, which is interposed between the socket and lamp and confined in place by the latter, but our invention is differentiated place and a disc adhesively secured to therefrom by a different mode of construction, and a different manner of supporting the reflector comprising the resilient tongues let which frictionally engage the lamp socket at a point beyond and outside the junction of the socket and lamp and in our novel construction the lamp is 'functionless in retaining the reflector in position, and to none of the structures of the prior art do we herein make our claim.

It is obvious that the reflecting elements or sheets may be made of any suitable light reflecting material, such as what is termed in the trade metal leaf and if desired may have radial creases or the like to increase the number of reflecting surfaces.

The flanged ringsupon which the reflecting sheets are secured may be stamped, pressed or otherwise formed out of rubber, fibre, parchment, paper or the like or any other suitable form of insulating material. The disk 12 with its tongues 14, for the sake of cheapness is preferably made of paper'or the like of suflicient thickness to givethe tongues the necessary resiliency frictionally to engage a lamp socket, as seen in Figure 6. The provision of-the flange 9 gives the reflector a finished appearance on the dished surface, while the disk 12 with -its tongues 14 imparts a finished appearance to the opposite side or what isusually the topof the reflector. While we have shown our novel device as adapted to be attached to or associated with a lamp socket, but not to be interposed between the socket and lamp, it will be evident that it can be supported from other points and directly from the branches of the Christmas tree, as a Christmas tree ornament if desired.

We are aware that the invention maybe 1 embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and we therefore desire the present embodiment to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, reference being had to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A reflecting Christmas tree ornament,

composed of a ring, sheets of reflecting ma terial secured thereon, inner and outer flanges at opposite ends of said ring and compressed upon said sheets for securing the latter in one of said flanges and having a star shaped opening therein, whereby resilient supporting tongues are formed. 7

2. A reflecting Christmas tree ornament,

composed of a ring having a flange initially formed thereon, a plurality of centrally apertured scalloped reflecting sheets of different colors, mounted on said ring, certain of said sheets being dished, a flange formed on said ring at the end opposite to said first mentioned flange and compressed on the contiguous sheet for holding said sheets in assembled position, and a disk adhesively secured to said compressed flange and having a star shaped opening therein, whereby resilient, supporting pointed tongues are formed.

3. The combination of a socket, an electric lamp having a plug adapted to said socket, and a reflector coacting with said lamp and comprising a plurality of scalloped sheets of reflecting material, certain of said sheets being dished and provided with creases, an

insulating ring supporting said sheets and having its ends flanged upon the contiguous sheets, and a non-conducting disk adhesively secured to one of said flanges tiguous sheet and pointed resilient ing said socket.

provided with inner, radial tongues frictionally engag- PHILIP KRANZ. ALBERT P. soHMID,

and to the conv 

